


The Ups and Downs of Thinking

by bergann



Category: How I Met Your Mother
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-01-31
Updated: 2010-01-31
Packaged: 2017-10-06 21:43:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/58065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bergann/pseuds/bergann
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Barney's always telling Ted that he thinks too much. It's true, Ted tends to over analyze things until everything in his head becomes a bit messy. So, when he kisses Barney he's not thinking about it. He hopes at least Barney will give him credit for that.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Ups and Downs of Thinking

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the [Finish It All Off](http://sinandmisery.livejournal.com/64946.html) ficathon.

Barney's always telling Ted that he thinks too much. It's true, Ted tends to over analyze things until everything in his head becomes a bit messy. So, when he kisses Barney he's not thinking about it. He hopes at least Barney will give him credit for that.

At first everything seems to be going _awesome_, because Barney has his tongue in Ted's mouth and Ted is getting Barney's suit wrinkled as he grips the fabric, and then Barney grips Ted's shoulders and slowly pushes him away. Ted thinks he might have made a serious mistake - and no amount of not having thought about it for once will fix that.

Barney makes a weird noise and narrows his eyes at Ted. "Ted, I don't know what you think you're doing but I don't think it's what you think you're doing."

"Um," Ted says, and this not-thinking thing would work better if Barney wasn't saying stuff that required thinking. "What do you think I'm thinking?"

"I'm thinking you're thinking that you're _not_ thinking when you really _are_ thinking." Ted blinks. "Because really you're not thinking 'hey, tonight is the night I kiss my fellow bro', no. That's not your thinking at all."

"What if it is?"

"Well, then, then you're wrong." Barney's voice is shaking a little, eyes wide and he hasn't let go of Ted's shoulder yet.

"I'm wrong about what I'm thinking?"

"You're wrong about thinking about kissing a bro in a hallway. Especially _this_ bro! I am not a hallway-kissing bro, Ted."

Ted scrunches his face up. "Does this mean you're a kissing bro in other rooms?"

"What?" Barney asks in confusion and he lets go of Ted's shoulders, backing away. "What? No? No."

"Right," Ted says, really thinking now, and Barney disappears into his apartment before Ted can think of a next move.

*

 

Barney is ignoring him. At least Ted thinks Barney is ignoring him, because it's hard to tell when Barney's still hanging out with them. He's just not looking at Ted.

Ted's been kind of staring in Barney's direction more or less for half an hour now. "Ted. Ted. Ted. _Ted_."

"What?" Ted snaps, turning towards Lily, who blinks in surprise. Okay, so he might have spent a lot of the time between Barney shutting the door in his face and meeting up with everyone at MacLaren's over-thinking the situation and is a little on edge. "Sorry."

"No it's fine; I should have said your name five times, not four." Lily says and scoots closer to him. "Why are you burning holes in our Barney?"

"I'm not!" Ted protests, because he really isn't, he just wants Barney to _look_ at him and stop dancing with Robin. Since when do Barney and Robin dance together anyway? "I'm sitting faced in the direction and Barney just happens to be in my field of vision."

"Oh really?" Marshall asks, sitting down with another round of drinks. "So if I sit here, that's perfectly fine with you?"

"Better actually," Ted says and puckers his lips at Marshall with a flutter of his eyelashes and it is a little bit better, not being able to watch Barney and Robin dancing. "Why are we here again?"

"Because," Marshall says and grins at him, "We get umbrellas in our manly drinks."

*

 

"Barney, wait up!" Barney turns around and looks sort of...hunted. Which totally isn't Ted's doing, no matter what comments Marshall and Lily (and at one point, Robin) kept coming with. "So, I was thinking..."

"Jesus Ted, won't you just drop it already?" Barney asks, looking like he's seconds away from gripping Ted's jacket and shaking him. "Whatever you're thinking is a good idea is not a good idea. We're best friends! Wingmen! Bros!"

"Are you saying that it says it in the Bro Code that we shouldn't make out?" Ted asks and Barney looks sort of relieved as he nods his head vigorously. "Well screw the Bro Code! You broke the rules for Robin, after all."

Barney looks a little like Ted punched him. "That's not -- you -- it didn't --"

"What?" Ted demands, arms gesturing a little madly. "What? It didn't count because Robin is _a girl_? You didn't list straight as a reason, and you _kissed me back_, Barney!" Ted says and then stresses, "You kissed me back. Even though we were in the hallway outside your apartment and even though we weren't drunk. You kissed me back. So whatever feelings I have, it's clear you have them too. I don't see what the big problem is."

"Maybe I do, but so what? We're still _best friends_, Ted. It doesn't - I won't screw that up again."

"Sleeping together doesn't ruin friendships, Barney. I mean yeah, it can, like it threatened to do with me and Robin, but dude, Marshall and I totally grew closer after sleeping together." Ted says and Barney's eyebrows skyrocket.

"You _slept_ with Marshall? When?"

"College. We were drunk and Lily was out of town - what does it matter? We woke up the next morning, handled it like two reasonable adults and watched Star Wars. It was _fine_. And it'll be fine if we decide to do something, and Barney, we'll regret it if we don't." Barney looks like maybe he's about to give in, so Ted spreads his arms and smile. "What do you say, Barney? I like you. Will you let me buy you a drink?"

*

 

It isn't awkward in the morning, not even when Barney wakes up honest-to-God _snuggled_ up to Ted. Barney sits up and for a moment Ted does think Barney is going to freak out or just walk out, but when Barney turns his head to look at him, Ted can't help but grin at him. Barney looks uncertain for a moment, before he grins back and leans down, and any potential awkwardness is forgotten.

Until they leave Ted's room, that is, and find Marshall and Lily on Ted's couch eating breakfast.

"Oh," Marshall says and covers his eyes with a hand. "Oh that is just not something I want to see with my breakfast."

"What are you doing here?" Ted asks, slightly unnerved by the way Lily is grinning at them.

"Right," Barney coughs and then gestures towards the bathroom. "I'm going to --"

He disappears too fast for Ted to stop him. Instead, Ted narrows his eyes at Lily. "Also, I thought you gave me both your keys."

"We did, one set of them. Really, Ted, you didn't think we keep one for emergencies or something?" Lily asks and gestures for Ted to sit. "And we were out of cereal."

"Not to mention our toaster's broken. I need toast, Ted."

"Right. So we came here. Now tell me about _your_ morning, Ted." Lily grins at him, like a shark Ted thinks and he feels like joining Barney in hiding in the bathroom.

"Ted, please don't. I haven't eaten yet." Marshall begs just as Barney breezes past in Ted's shirt and pants.

"Don't forget Hurley's tonight, Ted. Later dudes!" Barney grins at Ted like he knows exactly what he's doing and isn't regretting it at all.

Ted shouts after him, "You suck" because Barney totally does. When he turns back to Lily and Marshall, Marshall's focused intently on the TV and Lily is still grinning at him.

"You've gotten weirder in the mornings," Ted informs her and steals a piece of toast from Marshall, weirdly cheerful despite the interrogation about to happen, because things really aren't weird between him and Barney at all.

Except for how Ted's pretty sure Barney just asked him out for dinner, but it's perfectly fine. Weird has just as many good sides as bad.


End file.
